More than half of the households in the United States currently have less than one month of income available in accessible savings to use in case of an emergency. Many financial advisors recommend that families should have three to six month's income in readily accessible savings. Regardless of the exact standard, it is clear that most Americans lack sufficient savings. One avenue to encourage more savings in the United States is to educate children regarding the importance of saving.
Over the years several products have attempted to encourage children to save the money they receive (e.g., “piggy bank”), but it is obvious, given the state of savings in the United States, that those methods of education have failed. While prior toy banks or other savings devices have appealed esthetically to children, such designs have failed to instill the importance of savings in children. Furthermore, there has not been any accompanying instruction or education on the importance of savings to encourage a level of responsibility in the children.
Additionally, there seems to be very little financial institution involvement with the products currently designed for children. This lack of involvement almost ensures that the first interaction children have with banks or other financial institutions will not occur until they are adults. The current offerings to children also fail to provide incentives for the children to begin saving.
Accordingly, there is a need for a bank and system directed to children to encourage children to save money in an educational and fun way, while providing incentives rewarding the children for saving.